Here We Go Again
by potatopeeler
Summary: "Um. What's up?" Tim almost winces at how lame it sounds and hopes he gets points for effort. It seems that he does, because Steph's smile widens and she even pats his back encouragingly.


"So, Ex-Boyfriend Wonder, you gonna mope on that ledge all night or are you gonna fight some crime?"

The voice comes from behind him on the roof and Tim turns his head to acknowledge Steph as she stalks over to him. "Batgirl," he greets and his eyes catch the way her heavy cape moves against her hips as she walks.

"What, no 'good to see ya'? Honestly, vigilantes these days. They're so dark and mysterious," she teases, crouching down next to him on his ledge. Tim doesn't know how to respond. They're not the same as they were before but they're not on bad terms anymore, so he doesn't know what that leaves them with. Awkward romantic tension is his best bet but that doesn't give him many good opening lines.

"I try," he finally settles on. "Did you need something or did you just drop by to say hi?" Despite all his protests, he misses the Spoiler costume. The new Batgirl outfit is too open, too revealing. Her hair, mouth, and eyes are out for all of Gotham to see and Tim can't help but worry.

"The latter. Enough bad guys have been sent to jail tonight for me to get a break," she answers, her bright lips cheerful in the dark cityscape. Their color is distracting, just like the bright gold of her hair. Tim imagines it getting pulled, caught in strong claws that yank her back into a fight.

"Well, hi," he says. "Um. What's up?" Tim almost winces at how lame it sounds and hopes he gets points for effort. It seems that he does, because Steph's smile widens and she even pats his back encouragingly.

"That's it, Red Robin, you _do _know how to make conversation." Her blue eyes sparkle at him in amusement and he thinks of how impractical her cowl is, leaving them vulnerable and not offering the advantage of different lenses. Night vision is essential in Gotham, especially since they all patrol _at night_ and he should really mention this to Babs- "Oh my god, are you zoning out on me already? Can't you stop thinking for two whole minutes?" Steph's exasperation snaps him out of his daze and he blinks at her behind his cowl.

"Sorry. If it makes you feel better, I swear I was focused on you," he says, and immediately flushes. "I mean-um, not like that! I was just thinking, your cowl-" His desperate rambling is cut off by Steph chuckling and standing up.

"Relax, Red. What do you say to a game of rooftop tag?" she asks, hands on her hips as she looks down at him. Tim raises an eyebrow and stands.

"You still play that?"

"You don't?" Through her cowl, Tim can see she's raising an eyebrow right back at him.

"Who would I play it with? _Robin_?" he says, remembering when he tried to kill him. He's not sure even Dick could get that kid to play a game for fun. While he's trying to imagine it, Steph drops low and kicks his legs out from under him.

As he catches himself before he falls face first onto the dirty roof, she leaps over to the next building. "Hey!" he calls after her before following.

At first, they're hopping from building to building, thick boots clapping against the hard concrete and cement, but then the rooftops grow higher and they pull out their grapples. The chase becomes airborne and Tim starts to feel the adrenaline rush that always seems to appear with Steph. When they reach the top of the highest building in the area, she has nowhere to go but down and she hesitates, searching for the roof to jump to that will have the least impact on her ankles. She continues running a second later, her longer legs giving her the advantage because she'd gotten taller than him, but Tim has always been fast and he tackles her before she's halfway across the rooftop.

Steph uses their momentum to flip them in a roll on the concrete and then she's on top, grinning down at him. Her hair is falling down around her face to brush against his cheeks and cowl and it's softer than he remembers. He takes a moment to stop thinking about it and then leans up to kiss her.

She doesn't respond at first and he imagines her eyes are wide in the outline of her cowl. But then her mouth presses down and she moves with him. The kiss is sticky with her lipstick but so familiar that it hurts. His hands end up in her hair at one point, the textured grip catching in her curls and pulling them taut when she ends it. Tim follows her mouth as she pulls away but she laughs softly and shifts her weight so one of her hands are pressed against his chest, holding him down.

"Emotional baggage aside, the nose of your stupid bird mask makes it really hard to kiss you," she says.

"What if I wasn't wearing it?" Tim asks before he thinks. It wouldn't be wise to unmask himself up here, he's been too distracted to look and see if anyone's around-

"Then I guess I could ignore the emotional baggage again," she answers, a teasing smile on her red-smeared lips.

Tim nearly knocks his head into hers in his rush to get his cowl down.


End file.
